UK Launches World’s Largest Floating Solar Array

Thames Water, a pioneering energy company in the UK, has officially topped the global charts by launching a fleet of more than 23,000 solar panels just outside of London. This five-year effort will be coming to fruition in the early weeks of March, and it will be floated near iconic Heathrow International on Queen Elizabeth II Reservoir. But this massive array isn’t just collecting power for the city. Its primary function is to provide an ample energy supply for water treatment plants.

Overall, the array pumps out 6.3 megawatts of capacity, enough to power around 1,800 homes. And although the full spread utilizes over 61,000 floats and nearly 180 anchors, Thames Water believes the floating panels will use an otherwise stagnant portion of the reservoir, limiting the affect that the tech has on the local ecosystems. There was no clearing of land required, nor disruption reservoir use. In essence, the project proved that clean energy can and benefit the environment even more than we thought.

In an interview with the Guardian, Thames Water’s Energy Manager, Angus Berry, said, “We are leading the way, but we hope that others will follow, in the UK and abroad.” And that is just what is happening with the announcement of the Queen Elizabeth II Reservoir project.

Countries like Japan have already begun working on projects to surpass the UK solar farm’s generation capacity, and by 2018, an array twice the size could be hitting the water. While the U.S. may still be focused on roof and lawn solar farms for now, there is plenty of room for Florida to take the lead on our own floating solar array. With the sun and the water, the Sunshine State’s potential for successful solar could be higher than most in Tallahassee will let on.